UK Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed the EU support, saying that it was right "we are standing together" as the threat posed by Russia "respects no borders and it is a threat to our values".

The EU said its ambassador to Russia, German Markus Ederer, was recalled "for consultations" and was expected in Brussels over the weekend.

The European Council statement added: "We stand in unqualified solidarity with the United Kingdom in the face of this grave challenge to our shared security."

Image copyrightReutersImage caption
A convoy of vehicles leaves the British Embassy in Moscow ahead of Russia's deadline for 23 UK diplomats to leave the country

In response, Russia's foreign ministry said: "We regret that the EU chose to follow another anti-Russian campaign launched by London and its allies from across the ocean, with the obvious purpose of creating yet another obstacle to normalising the situation on the European continent."

Mrs May briefed her counterparts on Thursday on the poisoning of the Skripals, who were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury.

The prime minister set out the evidence the UK has against Russia - including the positive identification of the chemical used as a type of Novichok nerve agent and the knowledge that Russia has produced this agent within the last 10 years.

Asked if she had relied on UK intelligence information to convince EU allies, Mrs May said the UK had been sharing "throughout" the investigation "what intelligence we can share with our colleagues".

She said: "What is crucial is that there was recognition around the table about the threat that Russia poses."

Analysis

By Laura Kuenssberg, BBC political editor

It might not sound much, but a few small words can make a big difference.

The president of the European Council has used the prime minister's language about the Salisbury attack, accepting and agreeing with the British verdict that there is no other "plausible" explanation for what happened.

That is a small, but significantly different, tone to the statement a few days ago.

EU ministers would only say: "The European Union takes extremely seriously the UK government's assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible."

The sentiment then was, OK, it might have been them - but you haven't convinced us yet.